According to the archives, their earlier material was applicable. He is recommending Eden Fire, which is their earliest full-length release. Listening to it, it does sound legit. You're right, it's not the heaviest, most bombastic melodeath I've ever heard, but speaking in terms of structure and musical style, it is definite melodeath, and it's at least as heavy as Eternal Tears of Sorrow.

WolfieboyMachi wrote:

Sonic Syndicate

I actually like it. They remind me quite a bit of Eternal Tears of Sorrow in their full, yet not-so-crunchy riffs and their synthy keyboards while lacking much of their gothic metal influence. Their vocalist is different, having a scream closer to Blood Stain Child's Ryo, save that they are a lot more competent in the English language. That said, it's debatable whether or not I'd want them at this point since both bands cover their respective areas quite well, but then, I got Words of Farewell for their sound that bridges the gap between Insomnium and Omnium Gatherum. Perhaps Sonic Syndicate are to BSC and EToS in a similar vein. We'll see.

Response in italics.

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ThePoop wrote:

(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

Didn't find them as similar to Insomnium as stated. Reminds me more of Omnium Gatherum. Good bass wall. Otherwise, not sure what to feel about it. It's not bad, I guess.

Really? I was just listening to Above the Weeping World and there was a bridge that sounded almost exactly like one by Noumena. Maybe I just haven't heard the right Omnium Gatherum...I've never gotten that into them, what albums would you recommend?

EDIT: On that note, if someone can link me to an amiable qualityWords of Farewell sale of their full-length debut, physical or digital, I would really appreciate it. If it's bundled with anything, all the better. \m/

So you go to a show, and you can't mosh... who cares. Are you there to run into people or to listen to the music? If you want to run into people go to the mall and run through groups of mall goths or something for fun.

Since when was Sonic Syndicate melodic death metal? They are about as death as Atreyu.

If you had clicked the links I provided, you would've seen.You're thinking about their second and third album. And while those did indeed introduce a lot more Metalcore to the sound, they were still more MDM in overall sound than Atreyu, being somewhat a softer, more accessible version of Scar Symmetry. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zAXcpI7I8Qg

But that is not the point. The point is that their debut album, Eden Fire, is totally MDM. And as far as the stale MDM genre goes, pretty unique in its overall soundscape.

I did click the links and it just sounded like a less talented and more core modern In Flames, who also have ditched Melodic Death Metal. I always thought that Melodic Death Metal was like Death Metal....but Melodic.

I did click the links and it just sounded like a less talented and more core modern In Flames, who also have ditched Melodic Death Metal. I always thought that Melodic Death Metal was like Death Metal....but Melodic.

I don't see how they would be less talented than In Flames. Their songwriting is far more interesting than anything In Flames put out since Jester Race.That is true, which is why calling bands such as Disarmonia Mundi, Soilwork, Scar Symmetry etc. - Melodic Death Metal is wrong. In my eyes at least.Which is Why I prefer to refer to it as "Modern Melodic Death Metal", or something to that effect. Because it really is a different genre than the genre that bands like Amon Amarth are...

Hmm. I just think Sonic Syndicate are one of "those" bands that only write music to make money. They look and act like a boyband and that has always been a major put off for me.

I don't really see how people think so. The closest they do to that would be in that they use brands like Affliction and Crusty Demons, which apparently in the US is really mainstream...But in Scandinavia, those brands are practicly non-existent...

As a former fan of the band, I must say that they were in it for the music, not for the money.That changed with their fourth album, though, when the fatass emo guitarist took over the band, kicked two of the members out and sent the band spiralling down a spiral of commercialism and shameless amounts of selling out, which led to a backlash so bad that the bandmembers went seperate ways and put the band on hiatus...

Affliction and Crusty Demons must be trying to build a market in Scandinavia then. I think the cry baby song they wrote about the time when a whole crowd of Amon Amarth fans sat down during their set says it all about their artistic integrity.

Speaking solely on the guitars, sounds a bit like Dark Tranquillity in some places, Neaera in others (mostly Neaera). They aren't nearly as interestingly progressive as the former, but that's hardly something I can dock them for since DT reside so far away in their own plane of existence. Aside from that, I appreciate the low, non-melodic death metal-esque growls and the thick overall sound. I doubt it's an add due to a lack of any real standout elements and because I have enough bands that exhibit similar constancy in terms of driving force as these guys do, but certainly not a bad rec.

Response in italics.

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ThePoop wrote:

(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

It is always nice to see another huge fan of melodic death metal! (Also my favorite genre as well)

Check out Before The Dawn http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Bef ... _Dawn/8508But more specifically check out their newest CD from 2012 titled Rise of Phoenix. It is some of the best new melodic death metal i've heard in a long time. Lots of influences from Insomnium, finnish melodic death and nature inspired atmospheres.

Also have you heard Norther? My username is one of their songs and they are one of my favorite bands. Some of my favorite melodic death metal they are a darker sounding Children of Bodom relying on keyboards for atmosphere and not for as many melodies. http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Norther/1815#

I haven't scrolled through every response so my bad if I post something somebody already said.Might wanna give Allegaeon a listen to (not to be confused with Aegaeon) they're a bit technical in parts but overall they have some decent melodies thrown into the mix as well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HNojlHOyyNw

And lastly, if you like Disarmonia (which is one of my favorites as well), might be worth giving The Stranded a listen to as well, basically features both dudes from Disarmonia Mundi on guitars in it. The clean singing was a bit much in some tracks on this album, but if you don't mind the stuff on later DM stuff then it shouldn't be too much of a bother. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WXpboxdroy0other honorable mentions include Illdisposed, Arsis' first album and the Diamond for disease EP ONLY, Nightrage, Suidakra (definitely one of the best out there, think Ensiferum with bagpipes and even better melodies) and Aeveron.

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LuciferionGalaxy wrote:

I also echo the obsession with Tribulation's Children of the Night. It's like you're biting into a Nepolean pastry. Addictive and unbelievably delicious. And no, I'm not fat.

I'll go ahead and throw in Quo Vadis (Can). Pretty solid melodic death metal with a technical flare. Day Into Night is probably their best effort, filled with a lot steady grooves while maintaining a sense of melody and technicality, but if you're looking for something a bit more progressive look into Defiant Imagination.

Archons play a somewhat similar style, and are also worth looking into.

These figures are based on tracks that I have rated vs. total tracks in a given artist's catalogue. Generally speaking, I have listened to all of these artists extensively. However, the way that I confirm a track as a listen is to rate it, and I only rate tracks when I am going chronologically through an album. This way, I gain the experience of listening to these albums as they were meant to be listened: front to back, as opposed to randomly listening to all the songs and haphazardly rating them as I go.

So, for example, a listening percentage of 26% of Arsis' catalogue essentially indicates that I have gotten through A Celebration of Guilt and A Diamond for Disease. I listen to albums chronologically as well, so I can see how a band has grown over the years, though for some artists, I basically acquired the album I remembered the most and listened to that first before I added the rest of their discography, in order to determine whether or not I really wanted them. An example of this is Neaera, whose 19% comes from listening to Let the Tempest Come, despite the fact that I have not yet heard The Rising Tide of Oblivion. This will, of course, be rectified. I may or may not choose to listen to Let the Tempest Come afterward. Most acts were instant adds of their entire discography (what was possible to find in the highest quality available, anyway).

If it seems like I am neglecting the oldies in favour of the more modern acts, it's probably because I am. I didn't grow up with the demos and early recordings of the former, so I don't have the appreciation for them that older metalheads who followed the whole melodeath phenomenon as it was taking root in Gothenburg have and thus, it's sometimes difficult to find the motivation to just start driving through, say, Dark Tranquillity's Skydancer when I got into them with Fiction, which also happens to be my favourite of their many storied eras. Rest assured that this does not mean that I am dismissing them, and if it means anything, I am going through In Flames' Whoracle as we speak, and enjoying it.

*Represented by Enfeebled Earth, released under the name, "Septic Broiler."**I previously listened to Ne Obliviscaris' Portal of I, but when said album and the corresponding limited edition t-shirt came in the mail, I chose to do my own rip of the CD and delete the old tracks, along with their ratings. Because of this, I will listen to the album again at some point later.

Also, I will get to the new recs soon. Generally speaking, I am somewhat discouraged to add more, lest I oversaturate my library with melodeath bands. But music is music and quality is quality, no matter who makes it or what kind it is, so I'll give all of these recs a try regardless. \m/

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ThePoop wrote:

(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

I forgot to mention this earlier, but Godgory may be worth checking out, even if you're a bit stuffed with recs. I don't think there's a melodeath band that sounds quite like them, they keep the deep growls and aggression of straight-up death metal without the speed and blasting while having some great leads and melodies. In a nutshell, it's ballsy melodeath.

So you go to a show, and you can't mosh... who cares. Are you there to run into people or to listen to the music? If you want to run into people go to the mall and run through groups of mall goths or something for fun.

Okay, this is quite magnificent. It sounds like a perfect synthesis of Insomnium's melodies, Neaera's brutality, and In Vain's vocals and general epicness (essentially, all of the best parts), all astoundingly produced. I love the largely mid-tempo pace, yet blasting double kicks, as well as the machine gun strumming and almost-folkish soloing (another Insomnium trait). I really can't argue with this. I think that this is a definite add. \m/

...Also, thank you for reminding me of In Vain.

Norther

This is competent, but not so remarkable. The Bodom comparison seems apt, as they employ a bit of that driving power metal force. Good soloing. Apart from the keyboards though, I don't hear anything that blows me away.

Evil_Obsidian wrote:

De Profundis

This has a lot of progressive and black metal influence, though The Axis of Perdition-like rapid-fire drums pound higher in the mix than most records in the latter spectrum. But you are right: the melodeath in this is obvious. I've heard better from the progressive/black/melodeath camp though.

BaloroftheEvilEye wrote:

Archons

Quite the competent drummer. Though not the same in style, the aptitude of the percussion does make me think of the drumming of DevilDriver, this, of course, being far less groovy. Otherwise, they seem like Arsis if they took things a bit slower. Meh.

Carcariass

The guitars sound like that of a particularly well-polished black metal record while incorporating the vocal depth of Amon Amarth. Interesting song structure... but not that interesting. Sounds more progressive than technical, as labelled.

OneSizeFitzpatrick wrote:

Allegaeon

Arsis, if they employed a massive wall of sound and focused less on technicality and more on Neaera-like driving. Not bad, not bad.

Bloodshot Dawn

Much respect for the deeeep growls characteristic of purer death metal. Awesome soloing, forefront and background alike. Seems to be slightly groovy too. Pretty good, I'll think about it.

The Stranded

Eh. It's Disarmonia Mundi in pretty much every way, but a bit heavier. Which is to say that it's good, but considering that Disarmonia Mundi are heavy enough in their own right, having these guys would be pretty redundant. If Disarmonia ever disbanded and these guys lived on, they might be worth it, but not right now, I don't think.

Markov wrote:

Sacrilege

My previous sentiment about Sacrilege as stated to Zodijackyl applies here. However, I have made a lot of headway through In Flames' earlier, pre-Reroute to Remain works since then and I can see the resemblance. Honestly though, these guys seem like they are to In Flames what The Stranded are to Disarmonia Mundi, albeit disbanded as of now. It's a shame though, I'll say that much: they would have done well past the 1990's.

IX Leviathan wrote:

Quo Vadis

Now here's a name that comes up among revered bands quite often, I've noticed. Listening to this, the idolatry is not misplaced. A good, technically proficient example of progressive melodeath. I don't have any complaints about it, really, but I find that I don't have much else to say. Maybe.

BaloroftheEvilEye wrote:

Godgory

I see that these guys rather enjoy driving, then stopping, then driving again. I can appreciate the quiet interludes. I shrug at the heavy sections, but that solo was pretty fucking awesome. It's all right.

GhostlyGloom wrote:

Utopia Banished

Ahh, seems to be a classic interpretation of the style by a modern act. This reminds me of early In Flames and Dark Tranquillity, focusing less on crunchy riffs and more those that wail. Better produced, even, though I don't much care for the general roominess and distance of the recording, most obvious in the black metal rasps, but also in some of the guitar sections and in the keyboards. Not really my thing, but I'm not gonna knock it.

Responses in italics.

Whew...

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ThePoop wrote:

(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

The Stranded actually contains Disarmonia Mundi. Both members of DM are in the Stranded, so that explains the resemblance.

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orionmetalhead wrote:

So you go to a show, and you can't mosh... who cares. Are you there to run into people or to listen to the music? If you want to run into people go to the mall and run through groups of mall goths or something for fun.

The Stranded actually contains Disarmonia Mundi. Both members of DM are in the Stranded, so that explains the resemblance.

I know, and that only really furthers my point, unfortunately. Like I said, it's not bad if it's like Disarmonia Mundi, but if I want to listen to Disarmonia Mundi, I'll just... listen to Disarmonia Mundi.

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ThePoop wrote:

(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

If you haven't listened to mid-career Dark Tranquillity, I recommend taking another look at them. I recommend trying, for instance, Damage Done. They're amazing (and they sound quite different today than they did in their first few albums).

Other stuff:Scar Symmetry is great, but less brutal, so you might not like them as much.The Wake is a personal favorite of mine. They're derivative and a clone, but if you like the genre, they are good stuff.Searing Meadow and Blinded Colony are also another personal favorites of mine.Detonation and Amoral are also excellent, particularly if you like a little bit of a touch of thrash in your melodeath.Lothlorien only had one album, but they're top-notch.If you liked Nightrage (it sounds like you didn't), you could try Shadow; they're in the same vein.Solar Dawn's one album is also excellent melodeath.Don't forget Arch Enemy's The Rise of the Tyrant -- amazing stuff.

If you want something more brutal, you could try The Absence.

If you want still more suggestions, your interest in Omnium Gatherum and Insomnium makes me think of Duskfall. Your enjoyment of Blood Stain Child makes me think you might enjoy trying Machinae Supremacy or Raintime; they're somehow halfway between melodeath and power metal, but possibly enjoyable for you.

The stranded don't really bring anything "new to the table" but they're a decent substitute if Disarmonia suddenly fell off the face of the Earth, and I have a soft spot for clones (at least the ones that copy good bands).

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LuciferionGalaxy wrote:

I also echo the obsession with Tribulation's Children of the Night. It's like you're biting into a Nepolean pastry. Addictive and unbelievably delicious. And no, I'm not fat.

Well since you mentioned In Flames, I would recommend Rise to Fall and This Cold Life. They are both quite "In-Flames-y" (modern), especially Rise to Fall.

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orionmetalhead wrote:

So you go to a show, and you can't mosh... who cares. Are you there to run into people or to listen to the music? If you want to run into people go to the mall and run through groups of mall goths or something for fun.

I rather like it, but the fact that Words of Farewell, Disarmonia Mundi, and especially In Flames came to mind almost immediately is disconcerting. To be more thorough, they borrow from all three, but don't perform as well in their respective areas (well... they did not likely borrow from Words of Farewell because both bands began in the same year in two different places, but I find Words of Farewell to nonetheless be more appealing). Good, but not as good. That said, it would be redundant to have them.

I added Before the Dawn on largely the same reasoning (incorporating elements from several of their contemporaries, older and newer), and it may be confusing, thus, why it is being used as a negative here. I suppose the simple answer is that they took such an amalgamation and made it theirs. Made it so good that it could stand on its own without coming across as a clone. While their story is not terribly relevant to Rise to Fall, I felt it necessary to attempt an outline of the difference.

This Cold Life

See above, albeit omitting the Words of Farewell time similarity, since this duo began last year.

Responses in italics. Just to put it out, when I said I was focusing on In Flames, I wasn't necessarily indicating that I wanted more bands similar to them (in fact, I probably have enough as it is). I just meant that I had been making ground on In Flames' catalogue in particular, partly to edify myself in the old ways of melodeath and on where 'modern' melodeath began and also just because they are an oldie with an extensive discography that will take forever to get through if I don't put some effort into it in particular. I'll probably do the same thing with Dark Tranquillity and Amon Amarth later.

Of course, that doesn't mean that you shall all go, "Ahh, it sounds a little like In Flames, best avoid suggesting it..." Like I keep saying, I will listen to all recs, no matter the reasoning behind a given rec.

Also, I never realised it before, even though I've had In Vain since before they released Mantra, but The Latter Rain is easily one of the most amazing records ever to grace the metal community. I was right to re-add them.

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ThePoop wrote:

(snip)

I believe it was Confucius who said "Life is merely a series of intervals in which one waits for the next Agalloch album."

The stranded don't really bring anything "new to the table" but they're a decent substitute if Disarmonia suddenly fell off the face of the Earth, and I have a soft spot for clones (at least the ones that copy good bands).

What I don't get, though, is why their album wasn't just released as a Disarmonia Mundi album. I mean, it pretty much is DM, just without Bjorn Strid, who was only a guest on the last album, anyway.